Month: March 2008

WordPress 2.5

WordPress is about to release version 2.5 into the wild (It just hit Release Candidate on the 17th). If you’ve been using WordPress.com or have peeked at the demo site you will know the biggest change coming to WordPress with this release.

My Beginnings in Blogging with WordPress

My original blog started at WordPress.com in April 2007, and I recently switched to my own self-hosted WordPress install in December 2007. With the re-launch of Apple Universe in February, I needed to get much more familiar with the platform, hence the switch.

At first, I was amazed at all the features like plug-ins, and user-installable themes. In my search for themes, I happened across iTheme, but at that point I didn’t know that Matthew Heidenreich would design an amazing theme for me. Once he was done, however, I was really blown away by his work.

WordPress 2.5 – Dashboard Design Refresh

Daniel Brusilovsky › Dashboard — WordPress

Although older releases of WordPress were easy to use, WordPress 2.5 brings a fully refreshed administration system that makes things easier to understand than before. The “Publish Status” option is now prominently displayed at the very top of the right-hand sidebar. (Editor’s note: As I’m working through this post, I’m apppreciating the intelligent relocation of features more and more by the minute.)

The result is a new way of interacting with WordPress that will remain familiar to seasoned users while improving the experience for everyone.

Daniel Brusilovsky › Dashboard — WordPress

The main tabs are functionally similar to older versions: on the left-hand side there are the Write, Manage, Design, and Comments links, (and, in my WP install, podPress), and on the right-hand side reside Settings, Plugins, and Users. However, links are now managed and created under the Manage tab, an alteration that brings back memories of the 2.0.x series releases.

The first major change that I noticed was the orange banner across the page, with a new super-emphasized “Write a New Post” button (and, directly adjacent to that button is one for creating a new page). Isn’t that the point of blogging? Generally, the first thought that comes to mind when I browsing to the Dashboard is writing a new post, and with WP 2.5 RC1, it’s clear that the WordPress team is aiming for this thought process. Blogging is the main objective; everything else merely enhances the experience.

Visual Editor Improvements

The WYSIWYG visual editor, a long time bane of many users existence, has been upgraded with support for TinyMCE 3. It includes a Full Screen mode for those that don’t like to be distracted when writing. I cannot speak a lot about this upgrade, as I don’t use WordPress’ visual editor, but the blogosphere has agreed that it’s a vast improvement over previous versions.

WordPress 2.5 RC1 is available for download. For a more in-depth review of the new features, Matt Mullenweg published a post on the WordPress Blog, and Aaron Brazell has an amazing outline of the new features, which inspired me to write up this article regarding WordPress 2.5.

Behringer HA400 Headphone Amp

Recently, I received a package in the mail from BSW USA, totally expectedly. As usual, I am very grateful for what was in the this package. But before I reveal the contents of the parcel, let me give you a little background on why the item in the package is of particular use to me.

Obviously, there were many things that I learned after holding the Apple Universe LIVE at Macworld 2008 event that I organized. The main lesson is that I need a bigger mixer, but right now that’s beside the point (and mixers are rather expensive). The matter being emphasized here is that guests at events like mine need to monitor themselves, usually through headphones. Monitoring helps speakers feel more confident about how they are speaking into the microphones (or, for example, singing, at a concert), which results in much better recordings. The problem: My mixer (Alesis MultiMix 8 USB) only has one headphone jack, so only one person (usually me 😉 ) can monitor the mix at a time.

The solution: The Behringer HA400 Headphone Amp that I got from BSW. This small device is basically a pro-quality version of those headphone Y-splitters that everyone uses with their iPods. The headphone amp connects to one of the outputs of my mixer, and four sets of headphones connect to the deck-sized box. This way, if possible interviewees live close by, they could come to my “studio” and record here, and both provide and receive high quality audio, instead of burning bandwidth on Skype (of course, we can blame ComCast for that).

Another package will be coming later this week, with a lots more fun goodies and gadgets. All of this new gear is proudly donated, so thank you very much donars!

~Daniel

Video: STS-123 Shuttle Launch

One of my greatest friends, and one of the smartest people I have met in technology is Ben Higginbotham. Ben not only knows a lot of technology, and how things work, but about astronomy. Ben has been a huge fan of astronomy ever since I have met him.

Ben worked very hard on this hobby, and I felt that his work is well worth sharing with everyone. Ben live streamed on UStream.tv the launch of Space Shuttle Endeavor! Here is the clip from Ben’s stream:

http://ustream.tv/rqyzo0QgnMfsMyUP0gNj8g.usv

Ben has a blog up for his space podcast, called SpaceVidCast. Check it out!

Born Again Mac User Podcast

Marcelo Lewin of the Born Again Mac User Podcast (part of The Digital Media Dude network) recently brought me on his for an interview. It was a great honor to be on the show. The episode was about switching from Microsoft Windows to the amazing Mac OS X. The two co-hosts, Marcelo, a.k.a. “Rabbi Marcelo” and John Devine, a.k.a. “Reverend John” got really into it, so did I, and they really did a great job co-hosting the show. You can find the episode on the Born Again Mac User Podcast site.We had a blast talking about my switch, and also some problems that occurred. Here are the interview questions, for quick reference:

  • Tell us about yourself.
  • Tell us about your podcasts.
  • Why did you switch to Mac?
  • Mac or PC in school?
  • What was the best thing about the conversion process?
  • What’s been the worst thing about converting?
  • Biggest conversion surprise?
  • What’s the best Mac convert resource?
  • Is there anything from Windows that you miss?
  • What’s your favorite Mac app?

The Digital Media Dude network has other podcasts that I think you will enjoy. Check it out – you might learn something cool!